New York vs Los Angeles
The short version
- Overall prices are about the same in both metro areas (BEA 2024).
- The median home costs $777,600 in New York and $921,200 in Los Angeles.
- Los Angeles has the warmer winter: January highs of 68°F vs 40°F.
- New York gets far more snow: 30 inches a year vs 0.
- Commutes are shorter in Los Angeles (31 vs 40 minutes each way).
Side by side
| New York, NY | Los Angeles, CA | |
|---|---|---|
| People | ||
| Population (2025) | 8,584,629 | 3,869,089 |
| Growth since 2020 | -2.5% | -0.8% |
| People per square mile | 28,572 | 8,223 |
| Median age | 38.2 | 37.2 |
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 42% | 39% |
| Money and housing | ||
| Median household income | $80,483 | $81,939 |
| Median home value | $777,600 | $921,200 |
| Home value to income | 9.7× | 11.2× |
| Median rent (with utilities) | $1,821 | $1,933 |
| Metro price level (US = 100) | 112.6 | 113.6 |
| Housing price level (US = 100) | 148.6 | 170.4 |
| $75,000 elsewhere equals | $84,400 | $85,200 |
| Homeowners | 33% | 36% |
| Top state income tax | 10.9% | 13.3% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.54% | 9.03% |
| Work and commute | ||
| Average commute (minutes) | 40.3 | 30.7 |
| Work from home | 17% | 20% |
| Take public transit | 44% | 6% |
| Unemployment (2020-24 avg) | 8% | 8.2% |
| Poverty rate | 17.9% | 16.5% |
| Weather | ||
| January high / low | 40° / 28° | 68° / 49° |
| July high / low | 85° / 70° | 82° / 65° |
| Precipitation per year | 50 in | 14 in |
| Snowfall per year | 30 in | 0 in |
| Days 90°F or hotter | 17 | 26 |
| Nights below freezing | 67 | 0 |
| Comfortable months | 3 | 12 |
| Risks, air and home prices | ||
| Natural hazard risk (FEMA, county) | Relatively High | Very High |
| FEMA risk score (lower is safer) | 99.2 | 100.0 |
| Good air days, 2025 | 42% | 11% |
| Home prices, past year | +5.7% | +1.2% |
| Home prices, past 5 years | +45.1% | +31.9% |
Highlighted cells are the better value where "better" is clear (lower prices, higher income, shorter commutes). Sources: Census Bureau 2025 estimates and ACS 2020-2024, BEA 2024, NOAA 1991-2020, Tax Foundation 2026.
Weather, month by month
Most comfortable months: New York: May and September to October. Los Angeles: January to December.
Full monthly tables: New York weather by month and Los Angeles weather by month.
What $75,000 is worth
A $75,000 salary in an average-priced US city buys about the same as $84,400 in New York and $85,200 in Los Angeles. Moving from New York to Los Angeles, you would need about $75,700 to match a $75,000 salary.
Moving between New York and Los Angeles
IRS county-to-county migration, 2022 to 2023 tax years, for the counties that contain each city. See where else people move from New York and Los Angeles.
Which would you pick?
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